Eighth-ranked Westmont Men’s Tennis (4-5, 3-4 GSAC) lost to #1 Fresno Pacific (10-0, 7-0 GSAC) by a score of 7-2 in a Golden State Athletic Conference match.
“I was tickled and very excited about winning two of the three doubles matches,” said Westmont Head Coach Mark Basham.
Mattias Neuman and Diego Almeida teamed up at number two doubles to defeat Fresno Pacific’s Jose Hilla and Denny Fafek 8-6. On the number three court, Arthur Kalayjian and Tiago Hayashi earned an 8-4 victory over the Sunbirds’ Maxime Adam and Martin Vaisse.
“Both teams played well,” said Basham. “Mattias was very spirited and moved very well.”
On the number one court, Westmont’s Carlos Lima and Bryan Cox suffered an 8-3 loss to Xavier Smith and Alex Gonzalez.
The singles matches, however, were not as kind to the Warriors who lost on all six courts.
“That was a disappointment,” acknowledged Basham. “We had two match points which could have made it a much closer match. I was pleased with the intensity with which the guys played today. If we had played with that same intensity on Saturday, we might have had a different outcome against Vanguard.”
At number three singles, Cox split the first two sets with Vaisse by identical scores of 6-4. But Vaisse claimed the match with an 11-9 score in the super-breaker. Neuman won 6-1 in the first set against Adam on the number five court, but gave up the second set 4-6. Neuman had match point at 9-8 in the super-breaker, but Adam rallied and won 12-10.
Smith defeated Lima at number one 6-2, 6-4 while Hayashi lost to Gonzalez 6-1, 6-1 at number two. Fafek gained the victory at number four, defeating Almeida 6-1, 6-4. Hilla won at number six by scores of 6-0, 6-1 over Kalayjian.
The Warriors have completed their first cycle through the very strong Golden State Athletic Conference schedule and find themselves in fifth place in the standings. The GSAC boasts six ranked teams, all in the top eleven. Fresno is in first place, one game ahead of #3 Concordia (9-1, 6-1 GSAC). #5 Azusa Pacific (6-3, 4-2 GSAC) is in third place, a game and one-half behind Concordia. #6 Vanguard (4-4, 4-3 GSAC) is in fourth place, one-half game behind APU and one game ahead of the Warriors. #11 Point Loma Nazarene (3-5, 1-5 GSAC) and Biola (4-7, 1-5 GSAC) are one and one-half games behind the Warriors in sixth place.
Before returning to conference play, the Warriors will take on Lewis-Clark State of Idaho (7-9) on Tuesday at the Rancho Las Palmas Resort in Rancho Mirage. On Wednesday, Westmont will play Point Loma Nazarene at the Plaza Racquet Club in Palm Springs. Tuesday’s match begins at 12:45 and Wednesday’s at two o’clock.
#1 Fresno Pacific def. #8 Westmont 7-2
Singles
#1 – Xavier Smith (FPU) def. Carlos Sachs Cirne Lima (WC) 6-2, 6-4
#2 – Alex Gonzalez (FPU) def. Tiago Hayashi (WC) 6-1, 6-1
#3 – Martin Vaisse (FPU) def. Bryan Cox (WC) 4-6, 6-4, (10-8)
#4 – Denny Fafek (FPU) def. Diego Neves De Almeida (WC) 6-1, 6-4
#5 – Maxime Adam (FPU) def. Hans Mattias Neuman (WC) 1-6, 6-4, (12-10)
#6 – Jose Hilla (FPU) def. Arthur Kalayjian (WC) 6-0, 6-1
Doubles
#1 – Xavier Smith /Alex Gonzalez (FPU) def. Carlos Sachs Cirne Lima / Bryan Cox (WC) 8-3
#2 – Hans Mattias Neuman / Diego Neves De Almeida (WC) def. Jose Hilla/Denny Fafek (FPU) 8-6
#3 – Arthur Kalayjian / Tiago Hayashi (WC) def. Maxime Adam/Martin Vaisse (FPU) 8-4
Records: Fresno Pacific 10-0, 7-0 GSAC; Westmont 4-5, 3-4 GSAC.
Order of finish: Doubles 1,3,2; Singles 2,6,4,1,5,3
